By Kyle LoJacono
Freedom girls track and field coach Dwight Smith has picked up a new pastime in the weeks leading up to this season.
Along with the hours he spends getting his athletes into peak form, Smith is spending his spare moments crunching numbers.
“The numbers we’ve been coming up with are amazing,” said Smith, who is in his fourth-year with the program. “I don’t want to jinx it, but we can do some amazing things.”
Part of the reason Smith has been reviewing the points his team can possibly pick up in meets is the fact that he has 45 girls on his roster, 15 more than any other squad he’s had.
“From the beginning it was about getting the girls to believe in my philosophy,” Smith said. “We’re a family. They’re all sisters, and I’m like the figurehead, like the dad. We come from all walks of life, but we’re all a family and get along. From four years ago to now that’s what’s helped us build up this program. … We have a lot of depth. We’re trying to go four deep in every event.”
The excitement is not just about the number of Patriots, but the quality of those athletes.
Freedom returns Sandra Akachukwu, who claimed Class 4A state medals in the long and high jumps and 100 and 200 meters last year as a junior. Also back is sprinter/hurdler Jasmyn Perry, distance athletes Alex Mitchell and Annie Tedesco and shot putter Bianca Igwe, just to name a few.
The Patriots are also boosted by the transfer of senior Faith Woodard, who reached the 4A final in four events and claimed the state high jump championship by clearing 5-feet, 8-inches.
“Faith is still going to do the high jump, and we’re going to have her do a couple other things too,” Smith said. “We’re going to take one thing away that she did before and put her in something else. I don’t want to say exactly what yet so that it’s a surprise.”
Smith, who is also Freedom’s girls cross country coach, began building the program with its distance athletes. He said he expects a lot out of his 4×800 relay team, which reached states the last two seasons and includes Lauren Arfaras, Mitchell and Tedesco.
“They’ve already knocked about 13 seconds off their time,” Smith said. “That’s a big improvement. … I’m leaving the last spot open for competition, so there’s a couple girls battling it out.”
Mitchell and Tedesco were on the relay that has the school record of 9 minutes, 47 seconds and placed 10th at the 4A final last year, two spots away from a spot on the podium and a state medal.
“I’m hoping that this year we can get on the podium,” said Mitchell, who also runs the 800. “We’ve never been able to do that before, but I think we’re going to be really strong. We’ve got three strong people right now, so I really hope we can find another one who can take us to that next level.”
Tedesco, who also runs the 1,600, said the stamina built during the cross country season carries over to track, as does the chemistry of the distance athletes and belief they have in Smith.
“He’s very encouraging,” Tedesco said. “He’s a great coach because he’s serious when he needs to be, but he also jokes around with us all the time.”
Smith pointed out that his squad should be more balanced than in previous seasons.
“The past couple of years the distance athletes really carried the team, and last year Sandra carried us alone for the sprints,” Smith said. “This year, it’s going to be more balanced than years past. Right now, I’m thinking the sprints are going to be our strong point, and I’ve talked to the distance athletes that we’ve got to carry our own weight and step up to the plate.”
Smith said assistant Ryan McGee, who coaches the Patriots’ sprinters and jump athletes, has been a big part of building that balance since joining the program three years ago after spending seven at Wharton.
“We don’t even have the basketball girls out here yet, but when they get here we’ll be really tough,” McGee said. “Just going over the numbers, it’s kind of scary if they can do what they’re capable of.”
Smith sees the 4×400 relay of Sasha Cruz, Perry and Woodard as one that could make a run at states if they find the right person to complete the team.
“Looking at the times they can do, I’m looking at sub 3:50 if everything plays right,” Smith said.
The Patriots will compete in the Charles Johnson Invitational at King Feb. 23 at 8 a.m. The Class 4A-District 8 meet is at Leto April 17, followed by regionals at Leto April 24 and states at the University of North Florida May 4.
“I’m so excited,” Akachukwu said. “Our team is going to be amazing this year. We’ve got the potential to win districts, regionals and maybe even states. We’ve grown more as a family compared to last year, and the new girls coming in have just made us stronger.”
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
